The
''big three'' automakers in the US, General Motors Corp,
Ford Motor Co and Chrysler Group, are lobbying the Congress
to dilute a major initiative on stricter fuel-efficiency
standards, which they have been resisting for years.

The
major proposal by the Senate would require automakers
to introduce a 4-per cent improvement in fuel economy
every year beginning from 2011. The proposal envisages
vehicles to yield an average 35 miles per gallon by
2020

They
believe the Congress is out to punish them for having
stymied its efforts in the past to introduce new fuel-efficiency
standards.

Last
week, the chief executives of GM, Ford and Chrysler
lobbied Democrat and Republican leaders to highlight
their sales pitch that the US industry is still vitally
important to the US economy despite losing market share
to foreign rivals, most notably the Japanese and Koreans,
and as such deserves special consideration.

Commentators
say that the US auto industry continues to be relevant
despite its sliding market share, and has always enjoyed
special treatment on mileage standards. Consequently,
now that the government wants it to be more efficient
to reduce oil consumption, it finds it is unable to
produce more fuel-efficient vehicles.

The
strides in engine technology have gone in to increasing
horsepower instead of mileage, they aver.

Some
senators, sympathetic to the industry, are planning
an alternative propose to mandate 36 miles per gallon
for compacts, sedans and station wagons by 2022 and
30 for sport utilities, light trucks and vans by 2025,
aproposal backed by the auto industry, including Japan''s
Toyota Motor Corp.

But,
a Ford senior executive believes that the proposal would
break the industry, saying that there was nobody who
could reach that target.